Garden Motorcar Burlington aims to turn the ‘mundane into the memorable’
With a spa and a simulated golf range, indoor parking, a café and lounge and a reflecting pool, the Mercedes-Benz dealership is built to turn a trip to the dealership into a “memorable occasion,” and sell some new and used Mercedes, smart cars and Sprinter vans into the bargain.
At Garden Motorcar, glass replaces bricks and mortar.
“The glass walls are for transparency,” president Steven Lewis explained during the grand opening celebration last week. “We have nothing to hide.”
The glass also saves on hydro as do high-speed doors and radiant floor heating, he said. The six-acre dealership is clearly visible and accessible to motorists on the busy QEW.
The building boasts a 6,000 square-foot reception area, 65,000 square feet of office and showroom space for 45 new cars as well as 25 used. There is a 17-bay service area. All hoists are inground. All technicians’ workstations are linked electronically to Mercedes-Benz International for joint problem solving.
After arriving in Canada in 1979, Lewis worked for the mother company, M-B Canada for 18 years. There he held a variety of sales management positions at M-B stores in the GTA.
CEO Ken Szekely has a background in plastics manufacturing, finance and real estate development.
The store, located in Burlington, Ont., just east of Hamilton, had its ribbon-cutting on June 4.
Garden Motorcar announced in a release that in the vicinity of 1,500 guests as well as local dignitaries, Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson and area councilor Rick Craven, attended the grand opening.
